Intjmastermind
Active member
A comparative review between the Nikon Monarch ATB 8x42 and Zen ED2 8x43
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to evaluate both the Nikon Monarch ATB 8x42 and the Zen-Ray Zen ED2 8x43 binoculars. In a sense, the comparison between these two binoculars represents a sort of David vs. Goliath match up. In one corner, we have the Nikon Monarchs, a solid binocular with a well-earned reputation and long history. In the other, Zen-Ray is trying to corner the market with a new design using all the latest technological advancements. This review will compare my personal experiences with the two binoculars under real-world circumstances.
1. Optics
A binocular has two purposes. The first is to magnify objects, that is obvious. Binoculars make small things bigger. The magnification is simply a ratio of focal lengths between the objective lens and the eye-pieces. Both the Monarchs and Zens are 8x binoculars.
However, their second role is just as, if not even more important. Binoculars make dim objects brighter. Large objective lenses allow binoculars to gather more light than the human eye, and advanced optical coatings ensure that the least amount of light possible is lost throughout the optical system. Both the Zens and Monarchs performed excellent in night-time conditions, on account of their fully-multicoated lenses and dielectric prism and roof coatings. Note that despite the “ED” glass in the Zens, their image was not any brighter than the Monarchs.
The Zens however, do have a larger FOV than the Monarchs. This is apparent when comparing the two side-by-side. The view through the Zens is more comfortable and natural due to its larger FOV.
However, the little bit of extra view at the extreme edge of the field did not really allow me to see anything extra. The gain in functionality was marginal at best due to large amount of edge distortion. In order to get a clear view, I had to move any object to the middle anyway.
Another issue was that the eye-cups on the Zens are too short at the full extension position for its eye-relief. If I placed my eyes into the eye-cups, the view was vignetted and full of blackouts. In order to clearly see the whole view, I had to hold the binoculars in front of my face, which was uncomfortable and unstable. The Monarchs had a much better design of eye-cup extension vs. eye-relief distance.
2. Ergonomics
I feel the Nikon Monarch has the edge here. It’s a much more compact binocular, and also much lighter. Although a couple of centimeters or a couple of ounces might not seem like a lot, when doing a side-by-side comparison, the Zens are definitely heavier and bulkier than the Monarchs. This is an important consideration when picking which binocular to take on a journey.
Another complaint with the Zens are the poor objective covers. The fit is rather loose, and when hiking with them on my neck, the objective covers would constantly fall off. Fortunately, because they are attached, the actual covers were never lost. Some might say that this is a relatively minor complaint, but I disagree. The ED2 is Zen-Ray’s flagship binocular, and poor attention to details such as loose objective covers reflects poorly upon the company as a whole.
The Monarchs are not entirely innocent of this either. The rainguard cover for the Monarchs is very loose and fits poorly. However, they won’t fall off in use due to their orientation when the binoculars hang off the neck.
The movement of the focus wheel and hinges have a nice smooth feel in both binoculars.
Aesthetically, the Monarchs have an understated, subdued design. They look “professional”, but not “fancy”. The Zens have a dramatic open hinge design, textured rubber hand grips, and an oversized focus knob. Also, the neck strap has ZEN-RAY in bright white and red text. While not ugly by any means, it almost feels like Zen-Ray is trying a bit too hard, and is at risk of having a “Mall Ninja” cool / tactical / military spec binocular image.
You only look through a binocular for short periods of time, but you’re carrying it around all the time. So while the Zen’s have better optics, the Monarch is the better binocular.
3. Conclusion
So the big question. Did the Zen ED2 8x43 best the Monarch ATB 8x42? The answer in short is “No”. The Zen’s optics are objectively superior, but not enough to clearly make them a better binocular. You won’t be able to see anything in the Zens that you can’t see just as well in the Monarchs. The Monarchs have the advantage of being lighter, more compact, and, in my opinion, a better aesthetic design.
In short, they are both excellent binoculars. My heart would pick the Monarchs, but my nerdy side likes the Zens. I’ll take the Zen ED2’s larger FOV and ED glass, and learn to tolerate its ergonomic and aesthetic faults. The Monarchs will make a nice gift for my girlfriend.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to evaluate both the Nikon Monarch ATB 8x42 and the Zen-Ray Zen ED2 8x43 binoculars. In a sense, the comparison between these two binoculars represents a sort of David vs. Goliath match up. In one corner, we have the Nikon Monarchs, a solid binocular with a well-earned reputation and long history. In the other, Zen-Ray is trying to corner the market with a new design using all the latest technological advancements. This review will compare my personal experiences with the two binoculars under real-world circumstances.
1. Optics
A binocular has two purposes. The first is to magnify objects, that is obvious. Binoculars make small things bigger. The magnification is simply a ratio of focal lengths between the objective lens and the eye-pieces. Both the Monarchs and Zens are 8x binoculars.
However, their second role is just as, if not even more important. Binoculars make dim objects brighter. Large objective lenses allow binoculars to gather more light than the human eye, and advanced optical coatings ensure that the least amount of light possible is lost throughout the optical system. Both the Zens and Monarchs performed excellent in night-time conditions, on account of their fully-multicoated lenses and dielectric prism and roof coatings. Note that despite the “ED” glass in the Zens, their image was not any brighter than the Monarchs.
The Zens however, do have a larger FOV than the Monarchs. This is apparent when comparing the two side-by-side. The view through the Zens is more comfortable and natural due to its larger FOV.
However, the little bit of extra view at the extreme edge of the field did not really allow me to see anything extra. The gain in functionality was marginal at best due to large amount of edge distortion. In order to get a clear view, I had to move any object to the middle anyway.
Another issue was that the eye-cups on the Zens are too short at the full extension position for its eye-relief. If I placed my eyes into the eye-cups, the view was vignetted and full of blackouts. In order to clearly see the whole view, I had to hold the binoculars in front of my face, which was uncomfortable and unstable. The Monarchs had a much better design of eye-cup extension vs. eye-relief distance.
2. Ergonomics
I feel the Nikon Monarch has the edge here. It’s a much more compact binocular, and also much lighter. Although a couple of centimeters or a couple of ounces might not seem like a lot, when doing a side-by-side comparison, the Zens are definitely heavier and bulkier than the Monarchs. This is an important consideration when picking which binocular to take on a journey.
Another complaint with the Zens are the poor objective covers. The fit is rather loose, and when hiking with them on my neck, the objective covers would constantly fall off. Fortunately, because they are attached, the actual covers were never lost. Some might say that this is a relatively minor complaint, but I disagree. The ED2 is Zen-Ray’s flagship binocular, and poor attention to details such as loose objective covers reflects poorly upon the company as a whole.
The Monarchs are not entirely innocent of this either. The rainguard cover for the Monarchs is very loose and fits poorly. However, they won’t fall off in use due to their orientation when the binoculars hang off the neck.
The movement of the focus wheel and hinges have a nice smooth feel in both binoculars.
Aesthetically, the Monarchs have an understated, subdued design. They look “professional”, but not “fancy”. The Zens have a dramatic open hinge design, textured rubber hand grips, and an oversized focus knob. Also, the neck strap has ZEN-RAY in bright white and red text. While not ugly by any means, it almost feels like Zen-Ray is trying a bit too hard, and is at risk of having a “Mall Ninja” cool / tactical / military spec binocular image.
You only look through a binocular for short periods of time, but you’re carrying it around all the time. So while the Zen’s have better optics, the Monarch is the better binocular.
3. Conclusion
So the big question. Did the Zen ED2 8x43 best the Monarch ATB 8x42? The answer in short is “No”. The Zen’s optics are objectively superior, but not enough to clearly make them a better binocular. You won’t be able to see anything in the Zens that you can’t see just as well in the Monarchs. The Monarchs have the advantage of being lighter, more compact, and, in my opinion, a better aesthetic design.
In short, they are both excellent binoculars. My heart would pick the Monarchs, but my nerdy side likes the Zens. I’ll take the Zen ED2’s larger FOV and ED glass, and learn to tolerate its ergonomic and aesthetic faults. The Monarchs will make a nice gift for my girlfriend.
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